Strange Observations
by scarlet phlame
Summary: Hugo Weasley hadn't been the brightest kid ever, but he'd certainly been the most observant. (Dramione, Albus P./Hugo W.)
1. Part 1

Strange Observations: Prologue

* * *

Hugo Weasley hadn't been the brightest half-blood in the wizarding world. But, then again, he had been the most observant.

At the age of four, he'd figured out that insects had only six legs, and arachnids had eight.

At the age of six, he'd learned that holding a wand backwards really did nothing to amplify its spell-casting power.

And at the age of eleven, he'd seen Scorpio Malfoy and his sister, Rosie, smiling and laughing in the Hogwarts dormitory. Immediately after, Rosie had jumped on his case, telling him to never speak of it again.

So everything was really quite fine as long as he didn't share any of his observations with anybody. And he intended to keep things that way.

But his intentions weren't quite as firm as his observations were.

* * *

Strange Observations: Part 1

The first time he'd seen his mum and Draco Malfoy together was at the train station as they waved Rosie goodbye. From what his dad had told his sister, Draco Malfoy was no force to be reckoned with. He'd seen several uneasy glances exchanged between his mother and Draco, but that much was all.

He'd been getting an ice cream with his Dad when he noticed Mum slip away, and, curious, he'd ventured off to where he'd seen them go.

Tension was thick and visible in the air, and he listened to them go back and forth, fighting. Their speech was fast and to the point. He was positive he'd never seen Mum this furious before.

"Draco Malfoy, I swear if you've put any ideas into that boy of your's head..."

"Oh, you're not honestly bringing this up again..."

"Shut up, okay?"

"What've I ever done to you? Can't you just leave me alone?"

"You tried to kill my family! You're an ex-Death Eater! I'm worried for Rosie!"

"You sure you aren't talking about sixth year, then? You remember that, Hermione?"

"Shut up! Just shut up!"

"You haven't changed a lick, I see."

Wide-eyed, he'd retreated, and just in time to see Dad finish paying Muggle money for the cone and hand it to him. Nervously, he licked it.

"Did you see where Mum went?" Dad asked him.

He guiltily shuffled his feet, and glanced at the floor. "I think she went to the loo."

Dad sighed, shook his head, and turned back to the stand. "Women," he mumbled.

No matter what happened for the rest of the day, 'though, Hugo just couldn't take his mind off of what he'd seen.

* * *

Strange Observations: Part 2

Hugo had just turned ten when he saw Draco and Mum together again. They'd gone to send Rosie off for her second year at Hogwarts, then he'd spotted them at the train station, at the same place they'd met before. Now, they weren't yelling, but rather talking very... loud. He couldn't quite explain it, but they seemed to have poured their emotions into their words.

"She came back from break and all she would talk about was Scorpio!" Mum fumed. He stepped back, a little intimidated by the glare in her eyes.

"I can't help it if my son takes a liking to one of the prettiest girls in the school!" Draco exclaimed, smirking and crossing his arms. He didn't even seem angry, just... neutral.

"Draco!" Mum was exasperated. "Now is not the time for that! What are we going to do?"

"They're kids, they'll get over it," Draco said dismissively. "They're just second years."

"That's my point! I can tolerate you, it's Ronald who can't stand to be around you," Mum said. "How do you think he'll react to this?"

"Don't let it get to you. Like I said, they're kids. They'll get over it."

"Oh, this is like 'Romeo and Juliet' all over."

"What?"

"It's a muggle book... look, never mind. Just, please, please tell Scorpio to lay off of it."

"It isn't his fault Rosie tried to seduce him."

"You bastard!"

Hugo flinched at the word and took it as an invitation to leave, returning to Dad's side by the ice cream stand. Dad looked a bit upset, but he couldn't exactly tell why.

* * *

Strange Observations: Part 3

The next time he saw Draco Malfoy was when he'd finally turned 11 and had been at the station to Hogwarts. He waved goodbye at Mum and Dad, and Rosie let him sit by her and Scorpio and Albus.

Albus and Scorpio seemed to get on quite well, although Rosie was always rolling her eyes at them. He listened to them interact quietly, uninterested and quite exhausted, too.

He wondered what Mum and Dad were doing at home, and if they were fighting again.

There'd been a lot of yelling last time, and when Dad had tried to take out his wand, Mum had knocked him out with a magic spell and cried a lot.

He'd gotten the signals and gone up to his room and locked the door, lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling for the rest of the long night.

Mum and Dad always seemed to be fighting now. They wouldn't stop. He wasn't sure what had gone wrong.

They'd always seemed to get along before, but things were changing, like how the years changed after summer and winter. When everything beautiful and orange turned sickly black and fell and rotted away.

Rosie was tugging at his sleeve, so he forced on a smile and turned his attention back to her. She was the smartest, prettiest girl in the grade, but sometimes he thought she was the most clueless.

* * *

Strange Observations: Part 4

When he'd come home for Christmas, Mum had had a black eye. She'd told him it was because she'd fallen and slipped on the floor, but he knew it was a lie because she kept on flinching whenever Dad went near her.

Rosie was laughing and clueless, as per usual, and Dad was just grouchy. He ate dinner at the table, but ate fast and then excused himself from the room.

Hugo just picked at his plate, shifting food around to make it look like he'd eaten, then excused himself from the room and did all the dishes so Mum could get some sleep.

He felt sick for the rest of the night, unable to sleep. Eventually, he'd woken and peered out the window. Mum was getting into a Muggle car (the one they kept for when Mum had to go out to see her parents) and was driving off somewhere.

He watched her car disappear down the road, confused, and unsure of what was happening.

* * *

Strange Observations: Part 5

The next Christmas home, when he was 13, he'd snuck into the Muggle car and hid under Albus' invisibility cloak. She got in the car really late at night and drove off.

He memorized the path using his eidetic memory, and then waited for her to park the car before sneaking out. His shoes made footprints in the snow, and he made them disappear with some of his Uncle's magic stealth hexes he'd gotten for his Christmas gift.

He followed her to a cafe that said 'Starbucks' and walked inside, jumping out of the way when a Muggle man went to close the door. He saw Mum sitting at a table, drinking something from a strangely shaped paper cup.

She looked really, really sad.

He waited for about ten minutes, and Mum looked like she was just about to go when a man walked in.

Draco Malfoy.

Confused, he pulled a face and stalked over to the other corner of the room, unable to peel his eyes off of what was happening. Draco greeted Mum, sat down in a chair next to her.

"Did he hit you again?" he heard Draco ask. Mum shook her head.

"I don't know why I'm meeting you here," Mum said. Hugo ventured a few inches closer, surprised to see something wet on Mum's cheek. Why was she crying? She was sad, that much was plain. Even if Rose was too stupid to see how unhappy Mum and Dad were all the time, he could see it. His heart constricted and his vision fuzzed around the edges.

"I don't know why I keep coming here, either," he heard Draco mutter.

He stepped a few inches closer, pulling the cloak tightly around his body. It did little to keep out the chill. He was terrified the fabric would slip off somewhere, revealing a suspended shoulder or two cold, wet socks.

He watched Draco- Draco Malfoy, who his dad hated, Draco Malfoy, who was an ex-Death Eater, place his hand over Mum's. He rubbed it with his thumb, and then moved his hand to her cheek.

Unable to watch anymore, he immediately tore out of the restaurant and dashed out the door, running to the car and opening it with the spare key, then slipping in the backseat. He leaned his head against the window and started to cry.

A few moments later, Mum opened the car door, stepped into the front seat, and started the car up. They sat in silence for a long time, and he was confused when she parked it next to the park.

"You can't tell your father about this, Hugo," she said, quietly.

Hugo nodded. "I never did."

* * *

Strange Observations: Part 6

When Hugo turned fourteen and the leaves on all the trees fell off again, he spent the winter at his school campus. Rose stayed with him at the school, because she'd finally grown a pair of eyes and had realized that being at school was easier than being at home with them.

Mum and Dad had tirelessly fought the last time they'd seen them. They'd mentioned something about a divorce. If his parents were splitting up, he didn't want to be there to see it happened.

Scorpio and Albus both stayed at the campus for them. Rose complained, although Hugo knew she was glad they were there. Hugo didn't complain, he was quite glad.

* * *

Strange Observations: Part 7

At fifteen years of age, Hugo kissed Lily Potter.

(She really wasn't that good of a kisser.)

Later that school year, he also kissed Albus.

(Albus was a much better kisser.)

* * *

Strange Observations: Part 8

The months gradually peeled away, and he returned home for his sixteenth winter. Dad was there, and so was Mum, but they weren't talking anymore. Dad carved the turkey, and Mum pretended to look at the wall for most of Christmas dinner, while the rest of the family quietly ate and made small talk.

Hugo had grown much taller by now. He was less scrawny, more burly, and had short, trimmed, bright red hair. Professor Neville always told him that he looked exactly like his Dad. But... he didn't want to be like his Dad. He didn't want to be like his dad. He wanted to be like himself.

Most of his time at Hogwarts, he spent with Scorpio, Albus, Lily and Rose. Everyone was growing up now, everything was become different. He couldn't place his finger on why some of them didn't seem to connect anymore.

Ever since Rose had noticed what was going on in their house, she'd refused to allow anyone to call her 'Rosie', her pet name since she'd been four.

He knew why. Dad was the one who'd always called her Rosie.

Now that he didn't anymore, the name just wouldn't fit. It should've, but it was like trying to put on a shrunken t-shirt. Clothes you'd grown out of.

Albus was always nervous about something now. Nervous about a test, nervous about missing homework, nervous about someone seeing them holding hands in the Gryffindor common room.

Scorpio was much quieter now, and he seemed to be quite frequently annoyed with Hugo. Hugo suspected it was because of their parents, but it still didn't deter Scorpio from stalking Rose from high heaven to Earth.

Lily always flirted with everyone. Incessantly. She'd gone through three boyfriends in the school year, and always had something to complain about.

Things were changing at Hogwarts.


	2. Part 2

Strange Observations Part 9

* * *

The sweater had shrunk in the wash.

It was pretty much a given. It'd survived battles and the escapades he'd had during Potions class, the snapping Dravola from Herbology and even that boggart in Defence Against the Dark Arts.

It couldn't survive soap and water in a Muggle machine.

He'd been stressed and angry, left the house in a huff and taken the car. Flown away- anywhere was better than where he was at the moment. Underage wizards couldn't use magic, so he'd just slept wherever he could. In a moment of idiocy, he'd thrown the sweater into a 25 cent washing machine to get the grime and little bugs off of it.

It was a really nice sweater. One of his favourites.

Albus had given him the sweater.

Of course, being the idiot he was, he'd forgotten Albus' birthday. He always forgot. Albus didn't care, but, then again, Albus didn't really care about anything.

Not really, anyway.

He fingered the tight-knit red wool between his fingers, contemplating on returning home and having Mum fix it. He brought it to his nose and gave it a sniff, eyes watering.

But Mum couldn't fix anything, could she? Probably not even his bloody sweater.

Sure, she could cheat on Dad without batting an eye, take out Voldemort, she was a part of the Golden Trio. Yada, yada, yada. The drama in their house did little to deter witches and wizards knocking on their door every bloody day, asking for interviews and their comments on this and that.

It was infuriating.

She couldn't fix their broken lives, she couldn't patch up his broken spirit the way she'd wrapped up his arm when he'd broken it as a kid.

She could repair the sweater, but she couldn't really fix it.

* * *

Strange Observations Part 10

At 17 years of age, Hugo watched Ronald Weasley finally leave the house.

He wasn't his Dad. He wasn't worth being called that- not really. Yeah, he'd been the one to teach him to ride a bike, and drive a car, and fit in with Muggles. But Mum had been the one to teach him right from wrong, it'd been Mum who'd really cared.

Right?

Hugo didn't understand why he was so sad, watching Dad walk out the door with his bags with that sad, void-less expression on his face.

But he suspected it was because he really wasn't sad at all.

* * *

Strange Observations Part 11

Today, it rained.

It shouldn't have rained.

Nevertheless, it did.

Quidditch was a difficult game. It was dangerous, too. Every time one flew onto the field, they had no clue what horrors each game would entail. Players participated in Quidditch for possibly that sole reason- being a hero on some sort of a smaller change.

Except it rained.

"I'm fine," Albus had said.

And he just possibly might've believed him, if Albus hadn't had a fractured ribcage and slim chances of surviving. But he'd just nodded and smiled in response; hadn't wanted Albus to see his worry, just his love.

Albus died that day.

Well, perhaps not the exact day- he'd survived the Quidditch match. But he'd died in one year, on this very day, saving a family of three Muggles from a collapsing pillar.

Hugo often wondered if he knew that he loved him.

* * *

Strange Observations Part 12

Two years later, Hugo's mother married Draco Malfoy.

She smiled a lot more often after that.

And then his Dad- Ron- died.

* * *

Strange Observations Part 13

Hugo doesn't like Draco Malfoy very much, at first.

But he puts up with him because he makes Mum happy. Yes, he still gives him the odd glare, although Draco is always infuriatingly calm the entire time- neutral. Like he isn't even important enough to be mad at.

It annoys him so much.

So here he is, standing at Dad's grave, holding a little black rose.

"I got you a rose," Hugo says, forcing himself to grin. "You probably would've hated it." He hesitates, before he continues. "I just wanted to know, would you, well, be mad? I can't decide if you'd want us to move on... I can't decide if I want to move on." He lets out a slight chuckle, before brushing away a strand of burnt orange flyaway hair. Kicks at the ground, stares at the clean black marble grave.

"You know, I knew your father," he hears Draco say, behind him. He doesn't turn around, just lets out a slight exhale. "He was valiant, but also a bit of an idiot, and I hated him for it. I couldn't figure out how someone so stupid could save the world," he continues. "You're sort of like him, in a way. But you don't amaze me."

Hugo scowls.

"And that's because you're so much better than him," Draco finishes, before turning and walking off.

* * *

Strange Observations Part 14 (Finale)

Hugo Weasley dies during the year 2036, aged barely thirty years old. Before his Mum and Dad die- not Ron, Draco. He gets up to a lot with them just in the couple of years before he dies, but there are still the empty regrets that linger even after his death.

He doesn't die hit by a Muggle car, or crossing the road, or an incident with one of the Snapdragon plants in Herbology. He doesn't die from an injury, and he doesn't die from saving the world. No, he dies from his own hand.

But he does die saving his friends.

It's a killer, murderer, really, one that quite fancies toying with wizards' minds that does him off. But not directly. He's given a chance- kill himself, or watch his friends die.

Hugo honestly doesn't care. He wants them to be safe- and that's what they are now, safe.

Death isn't what he expects. There's a lot of light, at first, light flooding in through the walls and filling him up like a glass. And that's when he realises how empty he actually was his whole life.

There aren't any faces from the past. If he expects to see Albus or even his Dad, he doesn't.

But death is very fulfilling.

And for the first time in his life- well, death- he feels real. Yeah, death's lonely, but he's okay.

He's okay, because his friends are safe because of him. Because he sacrificed himself so they could live.

And in a world of strange observations, he knows that that's the one thing his father could never do.


End file.
